Machine for shaping uppers over lasts



Cd. 7, 1941. ELUQTT 2,257,842

MACHINE FOR SHAPING UPPERS OVER LAs'Ts Filed Nov. 25, 1940 Patented Oct. 7, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENl OFFICE Harold Ernest Elliott, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 25, 1940, Serial No. 366,967 In Great Britain January 13, 194p 5 Claims. (Cl. 1211.1)

, This invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of shoes for shaping uppers over lasts, and more particularly to means for gripping and pulling uppers in such machines. The invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a toe gripper intended for use in pulling over the uppers of stitchdown shoes in a machine of the character disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,996,103, granted on April 2, 1935, ona joint application of mine and F. C. Choices. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to machines of that character or to machines for operating on stit-chdown shoes, and also that it is not limited to grippers for pulling the toe ends of uppers.

The machine shown in the above-mentioned Letters Patent includes in its organization a toe gripper which grips the margin of the toe end of an upper mounted on a last positioned bottom downward and is movable downwardly to pull the upper, the gripper comprising a jaw carrier having an upper-gripping jaw in fixed relation thereto for engaging the inner face of the upper and a cooperating upper-gripping jaw arranged to engage the outer face of the upper and mounted for swinging movement toward and from the fixed jaw. Downwardly movable operating means acts first on the swinging jaw to effect the gripping of the upper and then by further movement in the same direction imparts upper-pulling movement to the jaw support and both the jaws, the force thus applied in the pulling of the upper serving to maintain the grip of the jaws on the upper. The present invention provides an improved construction such that a comparatively thick upper is gripped more securely by the jaws than a thinner upper, thus affording better insurance that such force as may be required to pull the thick upper properly over the last will not cause the jaws to slip on the upper. For the purpose in view, in the illustrative embodiment of the invention, the abovementioned operating means comprises a member which acts in a wedge-like manner on the swinging jaw and approaches the axis of the jaw in the gripping of the upper, so that it is located farther from the axis and accordingly applies its force to the jaw with greater mechanical advantage in maintaining the grip on the upper when the upper is thick than when it is thin.

The novel features of the invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing and thereafter pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing,

bore is a rod29.

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a toe gripper constructed in accordance with the present invention for use in the above-mentioned machine, showing also certain parts of the machine associated with the toe gripper; and

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a portion of th structure, showing the parts as they appear in the gripping and pulling of the upper.

The gripper comprises an upper-gripping jaw l fast on a jaw support 3 and arranged to engage the inner face of the margin of the toe end of an upper mounted on a last which is positioned bottom downward on a work support member 4, the last being further supported at its heel end by additional means not shown herein but in the previously mentioned Letters Patent. Arranged to cooperate with the jaw I is an upper-gripping jaw 5 which engages the outer face of the margin of the upper, this jaw being fast on an arm 6 pivotally mounted at 1 on the jaw support 3'for swinging movement to carry the jaw -5 toward and from the jaw I. The jaw support 3 is provided with an upwardly extending bifurcated portion 9 between the two forks of which is secured a bearing member I I and the arm 6 is provided with an upwardly extending bifurcated portion I3 between the forks of which is secured a cooperating bearing member l5 arranged toextend, when the parts are in their initial positions as shown in Fig. 1, into a slot l1 formed in the member II. The member II is provided with downwardly inclined bearing faces I 9 and 2i, the face I9 being inclined at an angle of about to the face 2| and the face 2| being slightly inclined in a downward direction relatively to the axis of a cylindrical stem portion 21 of the jaw support 3. The member I5 is provided with downwardly inclined bearing faces 23 and 25, the face 23 being inclined at an angle of about 60 to the face 25 and the face 25 being inclined, when the parts are in their initial positions, at about the same angle to the axis of the stem portion 21 as the face 2| but in the opposite sense.

. The jaw support 3 has a bore extending through it in coaxial relation to its stem portion 21, and mounted to move longitudinally in this The upper end portion of this rod carries a transverse pin 3| which extends through slots 33 in opposite sides of the jaw support 3, only one of these slots being visible in the drawing. Pivotally connected at their lower ends to the pin 3| are upwardly extending links 35, one at each side of the support 3, these links being connected together at their upper is connected at itslower end, to an operating lever 39 which corresponds to the lever 52 shown in the previously mentioned Letters Patent. In

the construction herein shown the means connecting the rod and the lever comprises a pin 4| mounted in a bifurcated end portion of thelever and extending through a slot 43 in the lower enlarged end of the rod. The pin is engaged bya spring-pressed plunger 35 which amount-ear the rod 29 and against the resistance of which.

the lever 39 may be moved a short distance relatively to the rod if the toe gripper is returned manually to its initial position after it has been operated to pull the upper, as it may be in a machine of the illustrated type This insures the proper return of certain latch mechanism (not herein shown) which holds the lever in its initial positionas disclosed in the above-mentioned Letters Patent. Y

The jaw support 3 is pivctally connected by a pin 41 to a link ifi which corresponds to the link 56 shown in the 7 previously mentioned Letters Patent, the -lin-k"4-9 being "pivotally mounted on'a pin 50 adjustable along a slot 5| in a bracket on the frame of the machine. The link 49 thus serves to guide and control the gripper in its downward upper-pulling movement. The gripper is held initially in an upraised position by springs 53, only a portion of one of which is shown, these springs being connected at their lower ends'to-lugs 51 on the stem portion 21 of the jaw support 3 and at their upper ends to a fixed portion of the machine.

When the Work is presented to the machine the margin of the toe end of the upper is positioned between the open toe gripper jaws, as illustrated in Fig. 1. When the lever 39 is operated in the manner disclosed in the'previously mentioned Letters Patent, it pulls the rod 29 in a downward direction and the rod acts through the links'35 to impart downward movement to the pin 37. This pin, by reason of its relation to the-widely diverging faces [9 and 23 of the members H and I5, acts first to impart to the jaw 5 a comparatively quick swinging movement toward the jaw I until'the pin enters between the faces 2! and 25 which converge in'a downward direction at a comparatively; small angle to each other toward the axis of the arm 5. By its wedge-like, action on the faces 2! and 25 the pin-3'1 causes the jaw '5 to grip the upper firmly against the jaw I, and by reason of the'resistance of the upper to further swinging movement of the jaw '5 the lever 39 by its further movement actsthrough the rod 29 and the pin 3'! to impart downward upper-pulling movement toboth the jaws-and the jaw support 3 against the resistance of the springs '53 while main taining the grip of the jaws on the upper., It will be evident that since the pin 31 approaches the" axis of the jaw-carrying arm 6 in its move-J ment to effect the gripping of the upper, it is located farther from this axis when the jaws are gripping a thick upper than when they are gripping a thin upper and therefore acts with greater mechanical advantage on the jaw 5 to maintain the grip on the upper the greater the thickness of the upper. It will also be evident that the face 25 is more nearly parallel 'to the face 2| the greater the thickness-of the upper,-

which is an additional reason for the greater effectiveness of the jaw-closing means in maintaining the grip on a thick upper.

When the lever 39 is moved reversely in the return of the parts of the machine to their starting positions, the jaw support 3 is raised by the springs 53 until its movement is arrested by engagement of a projecting end of the pin 41 with a fixed portion of the machine. The rod "29 is then moved upward relatively to the jaw "support by further movement of the lever 39, 'so that the pin 31 is returned to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1. movement of the ,rod 29 the jaw-carrying arm In this upward 6 is swung upwardly by contact of the upper end face 59 of the rod with a face 6| on the arm; I

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, agripper for pulling an upper over a last positioned bottom downward, said gripper comprising a'jaw' support having an upper-gripping jaw in 'fixe'd relation thereto for engaging the inner face of the upper, a cooperating uppergripping jaw arranged to engage the outer face of the upper and mounted for swinging movement toward and from said first-named jaw, and -a member movable heightwise of the last in a downward direction relatively to said jaw support to impart upper-gripping movement to said swinging jaw and further movable in the same direction to impart upper-pulling movement to both the jaws and the jaw support while maintaining the grip of the jaws on the upper, said member being arranged to apply to the swinging jaw in the pulling of the upper a force more effective to maintain the grip on the upper the greater the thickness I of the upper.

2. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a gripper forpulling an upper over a last positioned bottom downward, said gripper comprising a jaw support having an upper-gripping jaw in fixed relation thereto for engaging the inner face of the upper, a cooperating upper-gripping jaw arranged to engage the outer face of the upper and mounted for swinging movement toward and-from said first-named jaw, and a mer'nberfrnovable heightwise of the last in a downward direction relatively to said jaw support with a'wedge-like action on said swinging jaw to impart upper-gripping movement to that jaw alone and further movable in the same direction to'i'mpart upper-pulling movement to both the jaws and the jaw support while maintaining the grip of the jaws on the upper, said member being arranged to apply to-the swinging jaw inthe pulling of the upper a force more effective to maintain the grip on th upper the greater the thickness of the upper.

3.: In a mach-inc for shaping uppers over lasts, a gripper for pulling an upper over a last positioned bottom downward, said gripper comprising 'a jaw support having an'upper-gripping jaw in fii-Iedfielation thereto for engaging the inner face of the upper, a cooperating upper-gripping jawarr'angeclto'engage the outer face of the upper and mounted for swinging movement toward and from said first-namedjaw about an axis on said support'and a member movable heightwise of-the last in a downward direction relatively to said jaw support with a wedge-like action on said swinging jaw to effect thegripping of the upper by movement of that jaw alone and further movable in the same direction to impart upper-pulling movement to both the jaws and the jaw support while maintaining the grip of the jaws on the upper, said member being arranged to approach the axis of the swinging jaw in its movement to eifect the gripping of the upper and thus to act on said jaw in a location farther from its axis and therefore with greater mechanical advantage in maintaining the grip on the upper the greater the thickness of the upper. v

4. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a gripper for pulling an upper over a last positioned bottom downward, said gripper comprising a jaw support having an upper-gripping jaw in fixed relation thereto for engaging the inner face of the upper, a cooperating upper-gripping jaw arranged to engage the outer face of the upper and mounted for swinging movement toward and from said first-named jaw about an axis on said support, means providing bearing faces in fixed relation to the jaw support and the swinging jaw respectively, said bearing faces being arranged to converge in a downward direction toward the axis of the swinging jaw, and a member movable downwardly along said bearing faces with a wedge-like action on said swinging jaw to effect the gripping of the upper and further movable in the same direction to impart upper-pulling movement to both the jaws and the jaw support by its engagement with said faces.

5. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a gripper for pulling an upper over a last positioned bottom downward, said gripper comprising a jaw support having an upper-gripping jaw in fixed relation thereto for engaging the inner face of the upper, a cooperating upper-gripping jaw arranged to engage the outer face of the upper and mounted for swinging movement toward and from said first-named jaw about an axis on said support, a member movable heightwise of the last in a downward direction relatively to said support with a wedge-like action on said swinging jaw to effect the gripping of the upper and further movable in the same direction to impart upper-pulling movement to both the jaws and the jaw support while maintaining the grip of the jaws on the upper, a rod movably mounted in said support for operating said member, and a link connection between said rod and member.

HAROLD ERNEST ELLIOTT. 

